Cardcaptor Ayame (co-authored by Brooke-chan ^^)
by Jen-san
Summary: A new mistress is selected...but who's the strange silver-haired girl and what does she want?
1. The New Mistress

_"Huh…where am I…?"_

_A girl of about twelve stood on a rooftop.  She wore a short, high-collared white dress of a Chinese design with large sleeves and carried a pink staff set with a golden star that sported white bird wings on either side.  Her hair, which was a light brown, was pulled half-up and was parted in the center over bangs that came below her eyebrows and just above her sapphire eyes.  On her right stood a blue-eyed angel with huge, feathery white wings and long, white hair that was pulled into a ponytail in two places.  On her left was a golden, lion-like creature with silver armor set with red gems and huge, white wings, like its counter part on the girl's other side._

_Adjacent of her, on another rooftop, stood a girl of about fifteen in a long, black dress of an English design with elegantly waving silver hair parted at the side and done in a full ponytail. Eyes of a pale green could be picked out, even in the shadows that the night cast on her. In her hands, she carried a blue staff set with a silver star that sported black bat wings on either side.  On her right was a red-eyed demon-like creature with black, bat wings  long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, and a patch over one eye.  On her left was a silver tiger with golden armor set with blue gems and huge, black wings like its counterpart._

_"Who are you?" _

_The younger brunette came closer, but was stopped when a boy of the other girl's age placed a sword between the two girls, which looked one moment Chinese and the next English.  He had unruly, dark brown hair in a side part wearing elaborate green and yellow Chinese garments that matched the striking colour of his eyes._

_"Nani…big brother…?"_

***

"Shanks fer da food!" 

A conspicuous gulp came from within the house and the door was flung open; then closed with a bang. Today had started out just like any other day.

She had hit the snooze button one too many times.

"Ja-a, minna-san!" a girl of about twelve roller-bladed down her street like a frightened cat, waving to her family within.  Her light brown hair came to her shoulders and curled in at the end.  It, along with a mostly white uniform (save for the cardigan), set off her tanned skin and sapphire colored eyes.

It was the last day of school before summer vacation, and the new semester always brought new prospects.  She took a deep breathe of the sweet summer air and grinned; Ayame Li was not overly fond of school, but the last day was always fun.  Today, the teacher introduced anyone coming in to the class, asking someone to show them around so that they could make friends over the vacation.  That way, new students would not be in an awkward position when they came back.

She hoped someone new would come today!

***

"Ayame! Ohio!"

"Konnichi-wa, Michiru-chan!"

"Ya, Ayame!"

"Ya, Haruka!"  Ayame waved at her other friends and greeted them, finally getting a chance to take her hat off when she took her seat next to Michiru, who was directly in front of Haruka.  She giggled at the sight of Michiru's flat, disc shaped digital camera and waved.

Michiru pushed one of her black ringlets over her shoulder and smiled at her friend, her open blue eye twinkling in delight.  "Close up on Aya…" she giggled, "Smile!" she then turned the camera so that Haruka got it unexpectedly in her face.

"Aaaaaaaaw…" the scruffy, tomboyish, chocolate haired girl covered her face with her hand, "C'mon…film someone pretty…"

"Haruka!" Michiru peeked out from behind the camera, "You're one of the prettiest girls in school! You and Ayame!" she blushed slightly.

"No way…"

"Hai hai! If only you grew your hair a bit…and wore a girls school uniform…"

Haruka tugged on her pants, "But I like this…"

There was a cough from the front of the class and everybody quieted down immediately.  "Now that I have your attention…" the young, silver-haired teacher grinned and winked, adjusting his glasses, "I'd like to introduce a new student.  Class, this is Hazinkawa Squall.  He has just moved here from England and will be joining us next semester."

"Ohio goziamisu, minna-san," the boy had jet-black hair and cool, detached look about his gray eyes that made Ayame shudder.

"Alright then, Squall, why don't you take the seat behind Ms. Li?"

"Hai, Mr. Tsukishiro," Squall strode over and took the seat behind Ayame.

Ayame looked up at her teacher as if he had just stabbed her through the heart with a sword, to which he sighed and looked sympathetically down at her.  She could feel Squall's eyes on her from behind.

"You shouldn't be afraid of me…I want to help you."

Ayame nearly jumped out of her skin at that, "N-N-Nani…?"

"Meet me outside and I'll explain everything."

Haruka's eyebrow had shot up and she was eyeing Squall suspiciously from her seat beside him.  His reply was a half-lidded smile.

"Ayame," Mr. Tsukishiro spoke up, "Why don't you show Squall around?"

Great…just great.

***

Ayame looked around warily before somewhat fixing her eyes on Squall.  "So…what's this about?"

"Your father…what's his name?"

"Li," she said slowly, "Li Shaolan."

"And your mother?"

"…"

"Your mother…?"

"Li Sakura."

Squall nodded slowly, "Just as I suspected…you have an older brother too, don't you?"

"…Hai…his name is Rensuke."

"Well…he's the one with the problem here."

Ayame rolled her eyes emphatically, "You didn't have to tell ME that one, genius…"

Squall smiled slightly, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but this is a real problem that could involve his life.  You see, he's g - "

"Hazinkawa! Li!" a teacher pointed to the clock, indicating that the bell had rung.

Before Squall could finish what he was saying, Ayame had run off.

***

"Daaa-ddy!"

Ayame skipped in, snaking her arms around her father's neck and presenting him an angelic smile.

"Konnichi-wa, Aya-chan…how was school?"

"It was good! But I need a book for my summer project…can I go down into the library and pick one out?"

Ayame hadn't noticed that her father was currently immersed in his newspaper and was paying little to no attention to her, "Sure," he said, "Now give me a kiss and go have fun," he turned to his daughter and smiled.

"Arigatou!" she planted a kiss on his cheek and skipped off.

Li Shaolan smiled to himself, lifting the cup of steaming coffee off the table and to his lips.  He had just gotten back from work at the law firm he headed (his arguing skills had stayed in top condition over the years) and coffee was exactly what he needed.

"Where was she off to?" a woman with short brown hair and green eyes descended the staircase, a letter in her hand.

Shaolan shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee, and while he did not move his head, his eyes moved to glance at her, "From the academy?"  His upbringing prevented him from being very thrilled with the fact that his wife worked, but if it made her happy, he was not going to stop her.

Sakura nodded, "It's a request…they want me to do the lead in the performance of Swan Lake this December," she smiled, "I think I'll take it.  You know…" she glanced after Ayame, "You really should have listened to her more carefully…"

Shaolan grunted indignantly, but grinned, "She said something about the library…"

"Ummm…Li…" Sakura tapped a slender index finger to her cheek.

"Hmmm…?"

Sakura coughed.

"…"

His wife nodded.

His eyes went wide as saucers and an elegant arch of coffee sailed across the kitchen.

Sakura nodded approvingly, "I think that's the longest one yet…very impressive.  Want me to get that for you?" she nodded towards the now empty cup.

Shaolan's face turned red and he coughed, "…I'll take care of it…"

***

"Now which one do I pick…?" Ayame stood on a chair set up near the bookshelf and glanced around at the books, "Hmm…oh, what a pretty binding!" she moved to her tiptoes and tried to reach the desired book.  Frowning when she found it was too high, she stretched out her arm as far as possible and switched from tiptoes to balancing precariously on her toes – ballet style.  "Just a little more…got it!" as soon as the words had left her mouth, there was a loud clatter as the chair fell back and left her on her backside.

"…Owie…" Ayame rubbed her rump, closing one eye in a wince. "That HURT!" She sniffed and stood up, dusting herself off. "BOOK! Where's my BOOK!" She turned back and forth sweat dropping. "Waaaaaaaaai?"  Finally, she spotted the book lodged between the back of the fallen chair and the ground.  She fell to her knees, lifting the chair off it and picking it up.  It was old – although in nearly perfect condition.  Her hands moved along the gold lettering on the cover.  "The Clow…?" she blinked, "Weird title for a book…wonder what it could be about…hmmm…" Finally, she opened the book and was startled into a shriek as a flash of black light leapt from the book and disappeared.  When it was gone, the book was still on her lap, opened, as if nothing had happened.  "That's weird…" she blinked, and then noticed the card placed in the first page, "The Light…hmmm…pretty! But," she turned the card over and frowned, "It kinda looks like a Barbie card…" she closed the book and looked at the cover once more.  It sported a winged lion behind a chain with a sun in the middle.  The impossible began to happen once more when the winged lion glowed and began to rise from the cover, gaining significantly in size as it did so.

Once materializing out of the book and appearing before Ayame majestically, it spoke.  Its voice was deep, masculine, and commanding, "I am Keroberos…the guardian beast of these cards," he looked down at Ayame, "What is your name?"

Ayame sweat dropped, "Barbie has a guardian…"

Keroberos came closer and frowned, "Your name…is Barbiehasaguardian…?"

"Eeeeeeeeeep…" Ayame sweat dropped once more.

"Its Eeeeeeeeeeep…?"

"N-n-n-no…its just…you're…you're…HUGE!"

Keroberos sat back on his haunches, looking down at himself.  His meeting with the Clow Mistress was VERY different from the last time…he'd forgotten how big he was, since by the time he'd actually transformed, Sakura had gotten used to him.   "I don't think I'm THAT bad…"

"Well…" Ayame gave him another look-over.  Just then, the door to the basement swung open.

"Hey! M - "Nani…?" the teenager at the top of the stairs looked down in disbelief, "You're…you're…"

Keroberos sweat dropped, "…Huge…?"

He descended the staircase, frowning, "Aren't you Keroberos…?"  He had dark brown hair that came to the bridge of his nose in feathery locks and he had piercing green eyes.  His skin was dark and he wore a light blue, suit style school uniform.  "What are you doing here, monster?"

Ayame growled to herself.

Keroberos flicked an ear, "Your name is Monster…?"

"NO!" Ayame shook her head rapidly, an indignant shade of red on her face, "My name's AYAME!"

"Ah! Ayame!" Keroberos brightened, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ayame!"

"Thanks! Wait…" Ayame frowned, "Rensuke, how did you know his name?"

"You mean they didn't tell you."

"They didn't tell me WHAT?"

Rensuke smiled smugly, "Well…mom and dad obviously don't care enough about you to bother explaining, now do they…?"

"HEY!"

"You know…" Keroberos frowned at the teenage boy, "You really should learn a little respect."

"Why should I respect her?"

"Do you want five good reasons…?"

"Sure…" he folded his arms, "Why not?"

"Alright…" Keroberos, who was still seated on his haunches, lifted his right paw, "One…" the first claw shot out, "Two…" the second shot out, "Three…" he extended the third, "Four…" the fourth was unsheathed, "Five," upon extracting the fifth, he jumped on Rensuke and swiped the teen across the face, "Is that good enough for you…?"

"…Holy…" Resuke's emerald eyes went wide as he felt the large gash with the tips of his fingers. It was bleeding badly. "You…you wait until my mother hears about this!" 

Keroberos jerked an eyebrow up, "Oh…? And what's she going to do about it…?"

The brunette mimicked the seal beast in expression, "Do you realize who she is…?  I thought monster over here would be enough of a clue…"

"Nani…?" Keroberos turned to Ayame and frowned, "Wait…your mother is…"

"The former Kinomoto Sakura.  Yep, you got it." 

Ayame blinked. "What about mom? How do you know her?" The pre-teen placed an index finger on her lower lip.

Keroberos sighed, "And I suppose your father is Li Shaolan…?"

Rensuke nodded.

Keroberos grumbled, "Well…in that case, I know both of your parents very well, Ayame…" he frowned, "A little more than I'd like to, in your father's case…"

Ayame blinked once again. "Phwee…?"

"Well…" the winged-lion coughed, "You see…these cards, now called the Sakura Cards, were created a long time ago by a powerful sorcerer by the name of Clow Reid.  Each card contains an entity that the Mistress…or Master, as the case may be, can release.  The entity's use is to fight.  Your mother was the last Mistress…and a very good one.  Your father was a descendant of Clow Reed on his mother's side and the Master of sorts."

Ayame nodded, eyes wide, "But…why didn't they tell me…?"

Keroberos smiled, "They probably just wanted to wait until you were older, maybe in a year or so.  If the magic was sealed away, I don't think your parents really saw the point."

"Squall…this must be what he was talking about…"

"Squall?" the winged lion and her older brother had spoken at the same time.

Ayame looked thoughtful, "Hai…Hazinkawa Squall.  He's the new boy at school…I'm supposed to show him around."

"Hazinkawa?!"

"Yeah…Hazinkawa…something wrong, Keroberos?"

Keroberos groaned, "Who told you to show him around?"

"My homeroom teacher, of course," she blinked, "Mr. Tsukishiro."

"Tsuki…shiro…" Keroberos facefaulted, "Yukito Tsukishiro?"

"How did you know?"

The winged lion sighed, "Do you remember that sorcerer I told you about? Clow Reid…?"

***

A figure stood in the moonlight on top of a tall building, its cape billowing mysteriously in the wind.  A curling lock of long, silver hair escaped from under the hood and was tossed around so that it looked like an aurora.  Open in the figure's feminine hands was a large, thick book, which seemed to beckon to a streak of black light that whipped across the star-mottled sky and disappeared into it's pages; leaving behind a momentary faint, deep purple glow.

"So…" the figure spoke in a rather thick, upper-class English accent, voice betraying her female gender, "Dark has finally returned."  A look of determination could be picked out on her dark lips from beneath the hood that shadowed nearly all of her face.

"Then it's begun."


	2. A Night on the Town

"…And this one is the Bubbles Card, isn't she cute?" Ayame giggled at the little mermaid.

"Very!" Michiru peeked out from behind her camera, trying to coax Bubbles to wave for it.  Finally, she succeeded and returned to filming, "This is some great footage! I'm going to edit it tonight!"  The three were in Ayame's gigantic back yard which looked roughly like something out of a magazine – with a willow tree that they were all under, a pristine pond, and flowers in every colour you could imagine.

Ayame grinned, "Sounds cool…Hey Haruka, what do you think of her?"

Haruka was seated against Keroberos' stomach as he lay, head up, like a dog will when you tell it to lie down or as a lion will as it causally surveys the surrounding grassland from a hill.  "She's cute," the masculine girl grinned and nodded, "Hey, wasn't Squall supposed to come over?"

"Yep," Ayame took a deep breath and nodded, "Should be here soon…"

"So…" Haruka leaned back against Keroberos, face towards the sky, unaware that Michiru was filming her, "What should we show him…?  We could do some sightseeing downtown if someone could drive us…or we could go out to a restaurant and maybe introduce him to some people…oh! Hey!" she snapped her fingers, "Let's show him the park!  You know the one near the cinema. Then we can go to a mov - Michiru…" she put a hand over her face and blushed, "Turn that thing off, will you…?"

"You looked cute when you were leaning back!"

Haruka's pupils contracted and she looked down, the blush deepening, then shook it off and returned her attention to Ayame, "So? What do you think?"

Ayame closed one eye, tapping the pen she had been using to write her name on all of the cards against her lower lip.  The camera was now on her, but she didn't seem to mind, "I think it's a good idea! Let's do it!  We can plan to do some sightseeing later on this week, I think my mom can drive us."

"Cool! Hey…can we drop by the manga store?  I need new X…"

"Haruka!" Ayame laughed, "You're the only girl I know who likes that gory stuff!"

***

"Sooooo…" Spinelsun causally examined his nails, "How was school…?"

Squall grinned, looking up from his writing, "It was good, but things are so much different here…I don't know if I'll be able to stand the one day weekends…and we have homework over vacations!"

The seal beast laughed, "Your father felt the same way…well, the vacations are much longer and there are more of them.  Don't worry, I think you'll get used to it.  Who's showing you around?"

"Li Ayame."

"Li…?"

"Li," Squall nodded, "And if you're thinking Li Shaolan, you're on the right track.  He's her father."

"So the master was right…her mother…Li Sakura, neh?"

"That's the one."

"Convenient that you'll be spending so much time with Ayame…are you going to go and see her today?"

Squall glanced up at the clock, "Actually, I should head out right now…I think she's already released Keroberos and the cards…would you like to come along?  I'm sure the two of you have some catching up to do."

"Why not…?" Spinelsun reverted into Souppy and hopped into Squall's bag, "Make sure that I can breath, now…"

***

"He's here!" Michiru prodded Ayame up upon hearing the gate swung open, "Go and meet him!"

"Eeeep…" Ayame sweat dropped, "O…kay…" she ran to meet Squall, stopping inches from him and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear in embarrassment at her rushed entrance as she did so.

He smiled at her, "Nice to see you again, Ayame…is Keroberos awake?"

"How did…"

"Just a feeling…" Squall opened his bag to reveal Souppy, who flew out and reverted to his Spinelsun form.  "I figured the two had some catching up to do," Squall explained, "This is Spinelsun…affectionately known as Souppy…the other Seal Beast."

"Nice to meet you!" Ayame smiled.

Spinelsun gave her a polite nod and a feline sort of smile, "Nice to meet you as well."

Michiru gasped, immediately turning her camera towards Spinelsun, "OH! You're beautiful!"

"Why, thank you," Spinelsun gave another polite nod, "I have a bath every second day…oh – I think some introductions are in order…?"

Squall nodded, "Certainly…Spinelsun," he gestured to Michiru, "This is Tachikawa Michiru…and," he gestured to Haruka, "This is Ishida Haruka."

Haruka grinned, "Pleasure."

Spinelsun winked, "Likewise."

Keroberos grinned and nodded to Bubbles, "Clow Reid used to wash us both with Bubbles."

"I remember that…" Spinelsun mused while posing elegantly for the camera, "I used to love it!"

Ayame giggled, "Come over to my house and I'll give you baths with Bubbles every day if you want!"

"That would be nice," Spinelsun grinned.

"Hey, monster!" 

Ayame turned towards the door to face her older brother smirking, arm leaning against the doorframe. She frowned at him, her blue eyes narrowing. "What?"

"I just wanted to say hello to monsters incorporated!" He ran his hand through his choppy, dark brown hair and laughed.  "I see you have a new member!" The teen walked over to the group and placed his hand on Squall's shoulder, "Welcome, o short one."

Squall flashed one of his disconcerting, half-lidded smiles in Rensuke's direction, "Thank you, o beanstalk.  Happy to be welcomed."  So saying, he brushed the hand off his shoulder.

"…" Rensuke simply stared at the raven-haired boy, dumbstruck.

Spinelsun leaned in towards Keroberos, "You don't like that one, do you?"

Keroberos snorted, "How could you tell…?" 

"Way to go, Squall!" Michiru laughed.

Squall gave a polite little bow, "So we're going to the movies, neh?  Shall I provide the chauffeur?"

Ayame shook her head – Squall was good.  Too good.

Rensuke woke up again, "Hey! You squirts ain't goin' nowhere without mom's permission, and don't you have ballet lessons at five?"

"Mom said it was okay to skip them today. I gotta show Squall around town." 

"Ballet…I'm impressed, it's a very elegant thing to watch," Squall smiled, although this time it was more genuine.  He then turned to Rensuke, "It would be polite to have…arranged a ride before consulting your mother.  I think that it will cause her less worry that way, don't you agree?"

Ayame blushed.

"…Whatever…" The older brunette turned and headed back inside.

"We're going inside," Keroberos reverted back to his smaller form, and Spinelsun followed suit, "We'll get out of your way while you go to the movie.  If we're here, we don't have to hide.

Ayame nodded, "Sure! We'll see you when we get back!"

Kero nodded and flew off, Souppy at his tail.  Literally.

"You can use my cell phone," Michiru smiled at Squall, handing him a tiny round mechanical object, "My mom's company made it."

"Arigatou," Squall took the cell phone and punched the number out before putting the device to his ear, "Okaasan? Ayame wants to take us out to a movie…hai…hai…" a nod, "Hai, 'kaasan.  Sayanora."  He handed the phone back to Michiru, "My mother to ask your mother and then call back…if the answer is yes, she'll send James with the limo and he'll be here 10 minutes after we talk to her."

"Wow…"Ayame smiled in amazement, "You have a _limo? What do your parents do?"_

Squall grinned and winked, "That's a secret."

"…Oh." Ayame blinked.

"Come on, Aya-chan!" Michiru took Ayame by the hand, her cheeks turning pink, and began to drag her back inside.  "Let's go ask your mom! You too, Haruka…" she called over her shoulder as she began walking through the doorway.

Haruka nodded and brought herself to her feet, nodding her head in the direction of the house to indicate that Squall should follow her, which he did.

***

"Mrs. Li!" Michiru called into the seemingly empty kitchen, "Mrs. Li! May we go to the movies in Squall's limo?"

Sakura Li looked down at Michiru and her sweat dropping daughter. "Are there going to be any adults with you?"

"No…Squall's limo will pick us up after the movie."

"I'd prefer if you had someone to supervise you, so I'll have Rensuke go along with you."  Sakura nodded at herself, "And I won't take any complaints if you want to go to this movie in the first place."

Ayame sighed. "But Rensuke's so mean!" 

"He doesn't bother me too much…" Michiru glanced down at her feet.

Haruka, having joined them along with Squall, sighed and shook her head as she listened to the conversation, running a hand through her light brown hair.

Squall looked from her to Michiru, then back again.  He gave a knowing nod and smiled to himself.

As if on cue, Rensuke stepped into the kitchen, taking out the carton of milk and taking a drink straight from it.  He then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Wassap?"

"Rensuke, honey," Sakura smiled, "Please don't do that in the future.  I need a favor from you…"

The older sibling glanced at his mother. "What?"

"I need you to go with Aya-chan and her friends to this movie. There won't be any adults and I'd feel better if you would look after them."

"Awwww! Can't the monsters take care of themselves?" He crushed the now empty milk carton in his fist and tossed it into the garbage. 

"Yes, but I'm asking you to please just WATCH them. It'd be a big help. I have to go to rehearsals for Swan Lake in about half an hour. Now, you're going with your sister and her friends to the movies. I'm expecting you home before seven. Call me if you have any problems. All right? You have the number of the theater." 

"But…but…" Rensuke stuttered. 

"No buts. Now, get going or you'll miss the movie!" She smiled. "I'm going to get ready for rehearsals! See you later, kids! Have fun!" With that, she went up the stairs and closed the door to her room behind her.

"Then it's all set?" Squall looked first at Ayame and then at Rensuke.

"Yea…I have no choice but to baby-sit.  Marvelous." Rensuke glared at Squall. "I don't like you…"

An all-too sweet smile, "The feeling is entirely mutual.  Michiru? May I borrow your cell phone again?"

"Uh…sure…" She took the cell phone out and handed it to Squall again.

Squall thanked her  - this time, all he had to do was hit redial, "Moshi, moshi…hai…hai…Ayame no oniichan…nani? Ah…hai, hai…ano…Rensuke.  Arigatou-goziamasu, 'kaasan! Dewa…Sayanora!"

"Let's wait outside then…I need the air…" Ayame headed outside again, having become lost somewhere between Squall saying hello and telling his mother her older brother's name – ah well. 

Outside, Rensuke ran his hand through his hair once again and sighed. "Look. If I have to baby-sit, your going to have to behave. Also, I'll let you know right now, that if we see any of my friends or any hot girls, I don't know you."

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuure thing," Haruka smiled innocently.

 "Right." Ayame frowned. "In other words, you don't know us period. You think all girls are hot… and everyone's your friend." 

"You got it!" Rensuke shot his little sister a wink and made a gun out of his hand, shooting it.

"Here we are!" Squall pointed to a sleek black limousine that pulled up in the driveway.

"COOL! Hey…" Haruka placed her hand on his shoulder, "Can I stick my head out the sunroof and yell 'We know Rensuke'?" she grinned hopefully.

Squall nodded, "All right with me!"

Michiru giggled, wrapping her arm around Haruka's. "You're such a baby sometimes! Honestly!"

Haruka had turned a very attractive shade of red as she coughed and headed into the car, "The changing lights are COOL!"

 Squall got in after her, coming to sit across from her and Michiru, "I like them."

"Whoa…" Ayame said as she got into the limo and sat next to Squall, "I've never been in one before…they're so pretty…" she smiled sweetly at Squall, "Arigatou for letting us use your limo…it's great!"

"Not a problem," Squall had one leg kicked over the other and his left cheek balanced in his hand as he smiled thoughtfully at her, but said nothing.  If his personality had been different, something suggested that he would be turning pink.

Michiru she stretched and yawned. "Oy…I haven't been getting much sleep lately… I'm probably going to fall asleep…in the movie…" She laid her head on Haruka's shoulder. 

Haruka blinked, her face returning to a red, then she smiled dotingly down at her friend.  "I haven't gotten much sleep over the past week either…it's because of this weird dream I keep having."

"Huh? Same…It's like…I'm walking through this long hallway…and there's a large mirror. I stop to look at myself…but I'm not there. Only this pretty girl with pink hair and fairy wings, so I walk away, confused…" She closed her eyes, "Then I'm with Spinelsun…and I see a boy and a girl about our age sitting hand in hand next to two teenagers…the younger boy has on this really English tuxedo and the older one is in a Chinese outfit. The younger girl is in a white Chinese dress and the older one is in this long, black English dress.  They're joined by this other older pair…a blonde boy carrying a laughing silver-haired girl piggy-back style.  I'm watching them, wishing I could have fun like that too, when this angel appears in front of me, smiles, and offers me his hand.  Then I wake up…and there's a butterfly sitting on the edge of the picture I have of my room of Rensuke, Ayame, you, and I."

Haruka nodded, "I can't see myself, but I'm running through a forest and I stop at a pool…I look at my reflection, but its not me…its an angel…with long white hair and huge white wings.  Keroberos is there…another seal beast, and two other people…a girl and a boy.  She has a long, dark cape and silver hair…very pretty.  The boy is in a Chinese outfit…he goes towards her and says something, I can't tell what.  I hear a voice telling me to fight…and I see someone with huge bat wings standing in front of me with glowing red eyes.  He takes out a bow…and shoots the other boy in the back.  The girl screams and runs to the one who was shot.  The one with the wings and bow tells me to fight…it was him who told me the first time…but I don't want to.  He says something and shoots me in the chest…I wake up…a white feather is lying on my chest exactly where the arrow hit me."

Michiru blinked. "How odd…you must have quite a collection of feathers now, huh?" She giggled, trying to lighten up the conversation. "Maybe I can use when when I sew!"

Haruka chuckled, "7…I counted this morning, and they're all pretty big and very pretty…like they've been washed and brushed before they were put on my chest or something."

"You should keep them…maybe they're angel feathers…how nice that would be…" The raven-haired girl said before sighing and falling into a light sleep.

****

"I'll pick you all up at 6:30…have fun until then, and try to get rid of those dreams so you all can get some rest!" James smiled and waved at them as they exited.

Still groggy, Michiru clung to Haruka, head on her shoulder. "Can't…walk…" 

Haruka carried her out with a grin and placed her on the ground outside the car, "There, lean on me if you still can't walk."

"'Kay…" Michiru continued to lean on her friend.

"Um…What movie should we see?" Ayame looked at Squall, still a little shaky from the whole conversation in the car. "You're our guest of honor…what would you like to see?"

"Hmmm…" he pointed up, "A Girl in Gaia…" he seemed to consider this, "Let's go see that!"

"I heard that's it's really sad…and there's a lot of romance and stuff…" Ayame smiled. "You sure?"

Squall nodded, "The artwork is supposed to be amazing and the fight scenes are supposed to be great too.  I'm sure."

"Yea…yea…" Rensuke, who had paid little attention to the younger people up until this point, walked up to the paying booth, smirking. The woman in the booth was about his age, and very pretty. "Hey, miss…I'll have five tickets for Girl in Gaia, please…I'm taking my little sister and her friends to see it…but to be quite frank, I'd rather spend my time with you…" 

"Awww…how cute…" She giggled. 

"Thanks…it comes naturally." Rensuke smirked once again.

"No… you're little sister! She's adorable!" She waved at Ayame, who smiled and waved back. 

"Arigatou!" Ayame giggled. 

"Well you are…" The girl in the booth then turned her attention back to Rensuke, "That movie won't start for another half-hour…here's your tickets and have fun, okay? Bye," she waved at Ayame again.

"Ja!" Ayame waved. "Let's go do something 'till the movie starts…" 

Haruka pointed towards the park, "Let's go hang out there…its close and Squall probably hasn't seen it yet."

Ayame blushed. "It's really pretty this time of year…all the trees and bushes are full of flowers…" 

Rensuke, who stood there as if he had been stabbed in the heart, turned like a zombie towards his little sister. "What did you do…?"

Ayame blinked. "Whaddaya mean?"

"That girl…you made her ignore me!" Rensuke frowned. "And NO girl…can ignore ME!" He ran his fingers through his bangs and coughed. "Eh…she wasn't all that great anyway."

***

Ayame laughed as she skipped over the bridge that crossed over a softly flowing stream. 

"You're getting ahead, Aya-chan!" Michiru, who was still attached to Haruka called after her. 

"I'll meet you at the benches! I wanna pick some flowers!" The blue-eyed girl giggled.

From a treetop, a pair of golden eyes glowed menacingly, "Picking flowers won't be on the agenda today…sugar pie…"

***

"Wow…what a pretty iris…" Ayame giggled as she picked it and tucked it behind her ear. 

All of a sudden, a snarl sounded and a pair of jaws closed around Ayame's collar, lifting her forcibly off the ground and into a nearby tree – where the girl's captor dropped her but kept its face close to hers.

Ayame screamed at the forceful shove and sharp teeth terribly close to her neck.  "WHAT ARE YOU!?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!?" 

"You don't have to worry…" a girl with long, elegantly waving silver hair in a long cape and tightly fitted, short dress sat with one leg kicked over the other, smiling down at her, "You're…how shall I put this…collateral."  She spoke with a strong English accent – upper-class, suggesting that the girl was wealthy.

"What?" Her panic seemed to mellow to more of a confusion, "Collateral…for what?"

"I'll give you back to your brother in exchange for what I want."

"…" Ayame's eyes suddenly widened. "You're…you're in my dreams…but…it can't be…" She winced, "Don't kill him…"

The girl shrugged, "I WILL kill him if that's the only way to get what I want…but I think he'll co-operate."

"What does he have? Can I be of help? Please…just don't hurt him…" her pale blue eyes began to tear.

"I will promise you nothing."


End file.
